Along with parking restrictions, which the state began enforcing last year in the Chapel Pond area, DEC wants to rate hikes for their degree of difficulty and get this information into the hotels so tourists will be less likely to attempt climbs that are beyond their capabilities.

DEC encourages hikers to discover and visit the other numerous hiking opportunities in the area. The DEC web page, Hikes Outside the Adirondack High Peaks lists a dozen nearby hikes that provide a hiking experience similar to a High Peaks hike, including great scenic views, but with fewer people.

By Michael Virtanen It took Bob Keller a few tries to start the single engine of his Cessna that was still warm from his flight to the Lake Placid Airport from his home in Boonville. It has fuel injection, the pilot explained, making it tricky to start warm. A flier for decades, Keller did his instrument and safety checks out loud, making sure the photographer and the writer he was taking over the High Peaks were shoulder-strapped in their seats and had headsets on with the switches set to cancel out the engine’s roar. Carl Heilman II and I were >>More

Observers say more money is needed to repair and maintain an antiquated network of hiking routes. By MIKE LYNCH When many of the High Peaks’ trails were cut more than a century ago, the work was done by guides and hired hands. Keene Valley’s Orson “Old Mountain” Phelps created the first trail up Mount Marcy in 1861; Verplanck Colvin’s survey workers cut routes up Algonquin and Dix in the late 1800s; and Henry Van Hoevenberg developed a trail system for the Adirondack Lodge (as it was then spelled). The early trails opened up the High Peaks to more people and laid the groundwork for today’s trail system, but some of the original trails continue to >>More